Wrestling Weekend That Was: Takeaways from Iowa’s men and women wrestling performances

Takeaways from Iowa men’s weekend. Iowa women’s team crown five champions at Grand View Open. UNI overcomes travel woes and West Virginia. Upper Iowa clinched its first Great Lakes Valley Conference dual title and more in the Wrestling Weekend That Was.

HIGHS AND LOWS OF IOWA MEN’S WRESTLING

University of Iowa experienced both ends of the competitive spectrum last weekend. The second-ranked Hawkeyes had a rough showing at No. 1 Penn State Friday. The Nittany Lions defeated Iowa, 30-8, winning eight of 10 weights.

Drake Ayala and Stephen Buchanan provided the only brights spots. Ayala returned to the lineup after sitting out against Ohio State. He didn’t get to face No. 7 Braeden Davis, but took care of business against backup 125-pounder Kurt McHenry with a technical fall. Ayala did not see action Sunday in the lopsided 34-9 win over Maryland, taking eight bouts.

Top-ranked Buchanan beat No. 4 Josh Barr, 5-1, and added a pin Sunday to remain unbeaten at 15-0 this season.

“We have to get first takedowns, we have to get the last takedowns,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said in a news release. “We got run out of this arena in some matches, and what are you going to do coming back.”

Buzz leading up to the dual centered around the 184-pound match. Iowa’s Gabe Arnold made comments about coming for four-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci after the Ohio State dual. Starocci had a mild response to the comment. The matchup ended up being Starocci against Angelo Ferrari, ending in a 2-1 decision for Starocci.

During interviews over the weekend, Brands said it was a coach’s decision Friday. They want to give Ferrari his full allotment of matches without burning his redshirt and limit Arnold’s work level, assuming to keep him fresh for the postseason that is a month away. Brands said Arnold may not have liked it but he did respond Sunday with a 2-1 overtime win over Maryland’s No. 10 Jaxon Smith. Arnold will be the starter for the Big Ten Championships and national tournament.

Top-ranked 157-pounder Jacori Teemer competed Friday at Penn State, suffering an upset to No. 3 Tyler Kasak in just second match back, missing two months due to a leg injury. Interestingly, freshman Miguel Estrada got the call at 157 but lost a 4-2 decision Maryland’s No. 6 Ethen Miller Sunday. The match burned his redshirt, making this an official season, so we could see more from him over the next month.

Iowa (10-1, 4-1) received a major decision from Joey Cruz (125) and technical falls from Kyle Parco (149), Michael Caliendo (165) and decisions from heavyweight Ben Kueter and Cullan Schriever at 141 against the Terrapins.

“You never know what is going to happen after a bad performance,” Brands said. “We had a bad performance on Friday night. You do credit them because you don’t know. We had two wins the other tonight, this afternoon we had eight wins, but we want 10 wins. Neither is what you want. You want 10 weight classes, 10 wins.

“I don’t think it’s the most important thing bouncing back. I think the most important thing when you see how they bounced back.”

We learned there is a mammoth gap between No. 1 and No. 2 in the country. After Iowa and Oklahoma State in the next two sports, there also seems to be a similar cavern between them and the rest of the field.

IOWA WOMEN CROWN 5

Iowa women’s wrestling closed the regular season with five champions Saturday at the Grand View Open in Des Moines. Rianne Murphy, Ava Bayless, Reese Larramendy, Naomi Simon and Katja Osteen all won gold for the Hawkeyes.

Murphy pinned her way through the 103 bracket. Bayless posted two technical falls and a shutout over teammate Valarie Solorio in the 110 final.

Simon, the former Decorah state champion, won the 180 title with two pins and two technical falls. Osteen beat teammate Alivia White, 9-1.

The Hawkeyes are rolling into the postseason, wrestling in the Region VII tournament Feb. 22 at Indianola.

UNI OVERCOMES TRAVEL WOES, WEST VIRGINIA

University of Northern Iowa faced challenges before they even arrived for a Big 12 dual Friday against West Virginia. The Panthers had to adjust to travel plans that included two canceled flights, a drive to Minneapolis instead of Cedar Rapids, a connecting flight from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and another drive to Morgantown, W.Va.

UNI Coach Doug Schwab said travel was less than ideal but the Panthers persevered the events that were outside of their control.

“You get in late,” Schwab said during his weekly news conference Monday. “You could start to feel sorry for yourself, make excuses or put your head down. Those guys didn’t complain at all. Just roll with it. That’s why I like where our team is at.”

Schwab shrugged it off and said it was just a chance for the team to spend more time together. It is all about perspective and you can frame it any way you want.

“They handled that great,” Schwab said. “I appreciate that as a team. I don’t think every team would handle it that way.”

Fifth-ranked UNI improved to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12, handling No. 21 West Virginia, 29-10. UNI won seven matches, closing with a pin from heavyweight Lance Runyon. NCAA champion Parker Keckeisen (184) and 133-pounder Julian Farber recorded technical falls and Ryder Downey had a major decision at 157. Cael Happel (141), Colin Realbuto at 149 and Wyatt Voelker (197) added decisions.

“We’re in a good place as a team,” Schwab said. “We’re still wrestling very well. We still have one of the best in the country. No doubt about that.”

UPPER IOWA WINS GLVC

In just its second season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Upper Iowa clinched the regular-season duals title. The Peacocks beat Maryville (Mo.), 24-13, on Sunday. Upper Iowa moved to 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the GLVC.

ALBURNETT DOMINATES TRC

Top-ranked Alburnett strolled to a Tri-Rivers Conference championship Saturday at North Linn in Troy Mills. The Pirates scored 286 points, 58 ½ more than Lisbon. Thirteen of 14 placed in the top two for Alburnett, receiving titles from Rowdy Neighbor (126), Preston Klostermann (138), Cooper Tucker at 144, Dawson Becker (157), Hunter Sauer at 165 and 175-pounder Shayden Washburn.

ANAMOSA, WEST BRANCH BOAST 3 RVC CHAMPS

Anamosa and West Branch each had three champions at the River Valley Conference tournament Saturday. Hudson Scranton (150), Ayden Antonelli at 175 and 190-pounder Austin Scranton earned titles for the Blue Raiders, who finished second with 181 points.

West Branch was third with 168, receiving gold from Ethan Humphrey (106), 144-pounder Cash Hatfield and Cooper Gates at 165.

Wilton won the team title with 223 ½ points and three titlists. Cascade’s Brock Morris (132), Iowa City Regina’s Porter Shetler (215) and Mid-Prairie heavyweight Burke Berry placed first.

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